Cognizable offence

Cognisable offence and non-cognisable offence are classifications of crime used in the legal system of India,Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Non-cognizable offences includes misbehavior, public annoyance etc. In general non-cognizable offences are bailable and placed under First Schedule of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Generally, cognisable offence means a police officer has the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and to start an investigation with or without the permission of a court. By contrast, in the case of a non-cognisable offence, a police officer does not have the authority to make an arrest without a warrant and an investigation cannot be initiated without a court order. The police can file a First Information Report (FIR) only for cognisable offences. Normally, serious offences are defined as cognisable and usually carry a sentence of 3 years or more.

In India, crimes like rape, murder and theft are considered cognisable unlike crimes like public nuisance, hurt and mischief. On 12 November 2013, the Supreme Court of India said it was mandatory for the police to register a First Information Report for all complaints in which a cognisable offence has been discovered.

The Section 154 in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 of India states:

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